Seeing the Spiritual: The Story of the Methodist Modern Art Collection

Join us for a lecture entitled ‘Seeing the Spiritual: The Story of the Methodist Modern Art Collection’, as part of our ‘Global Connections’ series of events.

You are invited to meet at 7pm for light refreshments, with the lecture beginning at 7:30pm for around an hour, with a Q&A session following.

About the lecture
The Methodist Modern Art Collection is the Methodist Church’s response to the flourishing of religious art in post-war Britain.  In the early 1960s it was the inspired initiative of a Methodist layman, Dr John Morel Gibbs (1912 – 1996) from South Wales who began collecting with his friend the Revd Douglas Wollen (1909 – 1998) and quickly assembled a group of outstanding paintings illustrating aspects of the gospel narrative from Nativity to Pentecost, with strengths in British 20th Century art.  Although influenced by the artworks commissioned for Llandaff and Coventry Cathedrals, their unique Methodist approach was to create a touring collection that would be seen across the country in art galleries, churches and cathedrals.  Their inspired collecting is illustrated by their first acquisition in 1962  – an example  South Asian art by  F N Souza – his powerful Crucifixion which is on loan to Bradford Cathedral for Bradford 2025.

In this Friends of the MMAC lecture, the Chair of the Methodist Modern Art Collection, art historian Professor Ann Sumner tells the unique story of the Collection which included well-known British 20th Century artists such as Edward Burra, Elizabeth Frink, Peter Howson  and has expanded to now include works by Patrick Heron and Maggi Hambling, as well as world art by  Jyoti Sahi, John Muafangejo, and Sadao Watanabe.